


Missed Me, But Your Aim is Getting Better

by BWPR



Category: House of Wax (2005)
Genre: Abandonment, Attempted Murder, Bad Decisions, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Deal with a Devil, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, Mild Gore, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Running Away, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWPR/pseuds/BWPR
Summary: It had been a long time since Alex had been in her hometown. Ambrose was a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana, where even the gators didn't dare go. She felt lost, so she decided that maybe it was time to go back to where everything had began, where she had been made. It definitely didn't have anything to do with who she had left behind.
Relationships: Bo Sinclair/Original Female Character(s), Carly Jones/Wade Felton, Nick Jones/Original Character(s), Vincent Sinclair/Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Missed Me, But Your Aim is Getting Better

**Author's Note:**

> Don't judge my self indulgent OC insertion. Not beta read, so there are definitely errors.

It had been a long time since Alex had been in her hometown. Ambrose was a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana, where even the gators didn't dare go. It had been the best and worst years of her life, at least until she ran away at the age of 16. It hadn't been hard, and she doubted that her parents had even reported her disappearance. She had made it to New Orleans and managed to survive. Got a job where she was paid under the counter by a nice old man who made the best po'boys, got her GED with minimal effort, even got into a 4-year university out of state. Anything to get away, anything to start fresh. She had changed majors three times during her college career, changed boyfriends (and girlfriends) so many times that she only remembered a handful of their faces, but had eventually made it out proudly with a Bachelors in mortuary science. Anthropology forensics had been too boring, and she had found herself unwilling to work with living people, so being a mortician it was. And she was damn good at it too. Well, as good as someone in her profession can be.

Alex hadn't even realized that Ambrose had been wiped off the maps until she had been trying to find her way back. She had moved around multiple times since she graduated college, but there was work everywhere she found herself. North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maine; she had lived in them all, but none had felt like home. Alex had even lost most of her Southern accent in the process, the drawl become so subtle that most didn't pick up on it anymore. She felt lost, so she decided that maybe it was time to go back to where everything had began, where she had been made. It definitely didn't have anything to do with who she left behind.

Some cosmic force seemed against that though, as she sat next to her overheated car in the middle of nowhere. The GPS had been useless, so she had resorted to guessing on a map where Ambrose had been. She didn't know why she needed to return so badly, but this feeling had been building for months up until she had packed her bags, jumped in her car, and took off. It had been getting dark, and she had started to get worried. No one had passed by in the long hours she'd been sitting by the road, and she didn't know what to do. There was no cell signal, and she had no idea where she was. She was alone in the world, and no one was expecting her or would miss her if she disappeared.

She had heard the faint thumping in the distance first. It grew closer and closer until she could see headlights, could clearly hear the bass of the rap music the driver was blasting. She was quick to stand up and wipe the dust off her ass, waving at the people approaching. And wasn't it her luck that it wasn't just one, but it was two vehicles approaching. The supped up SUV in the lead slowed down, and she didn't hesitate to run up to it.

"Hey! You okay?" the blonde in the passenger seat asked, seeming genuinely concerned despite how she looked like someone who normally wouldn't have given Alex the time of day. She instantly scolded herself for stereotyping her possible rescuers.

"Thank God! My car overheated, and I've been stuck here for hours!" Alex explained, not even trying to hide her relief.

"That's awful! You're lucky you didn't get heatstroke. I'm Paige, by the way," she introduced herself, before turning to the man in the driver's seat, "Come on, Blake. We can camp here for the night, try and see if we can get her car running again."

"Hey! What's going on? Are we finally stopping?" the driver of the second vehicle, a muscle car, hollered as he approached his apparent friend.

"Yeah, we can stop here for the night. This girl broke down, so we're gonna try and get her up and running while we camp," the driver, Blake, explained, "But I refuse to be late to the game tomorrow!" He drove the SUV into the field behind her car, already staking his claim on his campsite.

"Hey there, I'm Wade. Sorry about my friend, we're kind of on our way to a football game that he's been waiting to go to for months," the other guy introduced, shaking her hand.

"No problem! I'm just happy that you guys stopped at all! I'm Alex, by the way," she responded in kind, returning the friendly gesture.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Carly, and that's Dalton and Nick," the passenger of the car joined them, quickly taking her boyfriend's hand as if Alex was moving in on her man. She seemed a bit uptight, but not necessarily mean. Alex followed her pointing to the backseat of the car, where the other two males sat, peering at them curiously. Alex waved to them tentatively, one of them waving back enthusiastically while the other just rolled his eyes.

"You want to set up camp with us? I know we're a bunch of strangers, but we honestly would like to help you," Wade offered, and while he seemed genuine enough, she took a moment to decide on how much trust she was willing to put in these people. Yes, they were around her age and seemed like normal people, but she wasn't sure about this. But she had no idea how far she was from Ambrose, and chances are it wouldn't kill her to be nice with the people helping her.

"Yeah, thanks, that'd be great. As long as none of you try and kill me, I can promise the same," she jested, causing the couple to laugh. And that's how she found herself sitting under the stars, cooking hot dogs over a fire, and sharing beers with a group of strangers. She had tried to keep to herself a little bit, but they seemed determined to draw her into conversation. Every so often she'd lock eyes with the guy across the fire from her, Nick, and they'd share an eye roll and a smirk at their companions' expense. She was quick to pick up on the tension between him and the preppy girl, Carly, but she stayed out of it. Dalton had been quick to flirt with her, and she had been just as quick to shut him down ruthlessly, to the amusement of his friends. She had even taken a toke when the blunt had been passed to her.

It had been nice, had made her feel like her actual age for once in a very long time. Dalton, Wade, and Blake had been playing football while Carly and Paige had taken up gossiping on a picnic blanket. Alex found herself moving the chair she had claimed earlier over until she was next to Nick. He was attractive, yes, but there was a sort of shared understanding or mindset between the two of them that both of them seemed to respect. He was sarcastic and crude, but it was the realest conversation she'd had since New Orleans. She could tell that the others were wary about how well the two of them got along for being obvious loners. Nick clearly had a reputation if the way the others treated him was any indication, but he hid his frustration under apathy.

She was startled when suddenly the football landed at her feet. Wade was looking at her sheepishly, but she was more focused on how Nick tensed next to her, all the good mood gone from his expression. He was seemingly waiting for one of them to toss the ball back, but neither of them moved. If anything, Nick just continued smoking his cigarette, almost daring the other male to approach. And he eventually did, jogging over to them with a tight smile. Nick grabbed the ball when the other was almost upon them, standing up smoothly.

"Hey, you mind-" Wade started, but he was cut off when Nick threw the football, with impeccable aim and a perfect spiral, back to Dalton, all the way across the campsite.

"Wow, that was a great throw," he attempted, growing more confident when Nick just ignored him, "I can see why they gave you a scholarship." And Alex knew that he was just trying to start a conversation, trying to show that he had something in common with the other, but now wasn't the time. Nick seemed to take offence to Wade's words for some reason, blowing smoke in the other's face.

"Stop it," Carly demanded as she appeared, breaking up a fight that hadn't even started yet. She obviously knew how to control her man, but had a certain level of unease around her own brother, as Alex had learned from hanging out with Nick.

"I'd be happy to take a look at your car now, if you'd like," Nick asked her, a clear out from this situation for both of them. And she was ready to accept, prepared to defuse the building bomb that was Nick's temper, but she was stopped before she even started.

"I don't think she'd like you anywhere near her car," Wade cut in, and she could see this getting nasty real fast.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick all but yelled, clearly done holding in his contempt. Carly urged her boyfriend to leave with a side eyed glare, but when she turned it to her, Alex just raised an eyebrow. She may be able to scare off Wade, but Alex was a different beast who wouldn't be so easily pushed around. Nick didn't ask her to leave, so she remained right where she was. They watched in a tense silence as Wade retreated until he was next to Blake, clearly venting about Nick's attitude.

"He wasn't saying anything," Carly tried, but it just turned him towards her.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you've said enough for the both of you already," he hissed cruelly, and Alex knew that she was missing something here. She couldn't help but watch the verbal battle in awe, getting some sick level of enjoyment out of the drama.

"When the sheriffs asked where you got the car, I said I didn't know. I didn't even know it was stolen. You're blaming that on me?" Carly asked incredulously, as if she couldn't believe that her brother would dare expect her to have his back. And Alex was beginning to put it together, but something still wasn't quite right. She'd have to ask Nick about it later.

"You could've covered for me," he asserted tersely, something like hurt showing through his façade of anger and disdain.

"You get caught stealing, it's my fault. You resist arrest, it's the cops fault-"

"Stop it," Alex ordered, stepping between the siblings, "Nick, let's go take a look at my car." And she didn't leave him any room to get the last word, grabbing his wrist and dragging him after her. Thankfully, he allowed himself to be moved, because she didn't know what she would've done if he had decided to finish the fight. She leaned on the hood, pulling him down to join her when he just stood there like a statue.

"You gonna tell me what really happened?" she asked after he had a moment to calm down, trying to sound interested without being pushy.

"What do you mean? Haven't you heard, I'm a criminal," he asked rhetorically, lighting a cigarette. He laid back until he was laying on the hood of her car, staring up at the stars. She hadn't been this far from light pollution in such a long time, so much so that she had nearly forgotten how much of the cosmos could be seen in the middle of nowhere.

"You aren't the type to commit grand theft auto, and if you were, you'd be smart enough not to get caught," she reasoned, joining him in looking up at the stars, "So what happened?" And from there, she just had to wait him out. He finished his cigarette, sighing dramatically as if giving into her physically hurt him.

"I was covering for a friend because there was no evidence against me, but my own sister didn't try to defend me. It isn't even that, so much as it's about how ever since then, I've been the evil twin."

"Nick, you're a bad boy, but you're not a bad guy," Alex said, something final in her words as if nothing could change her mind. Yes, she didn't really know the man next to her; she didn't know his full name or his favorite color, but she knew that he was a good person. And Nick seemed to be contemplating her words, something like appreciation as he realized that she wouldn't judge him, that she just accepted him as he was. After a moment, he sat up with another sigh, this time just looking tired. He gently nudged her off the hood, opening it and taking a look. She hadn't really expected him to actually look at her car, but she appreciated it all the same.

"You're gonna need antifreeze, but it should be fine after that. Looks like you got lucky this time, overheating didn't cause any damage to the engine block," he explained, shutting the hood again. They immediately resumed leaning on it, passing a new cigarette back and forth between them. She wasn't a big fan of smoking, but there was something grounding about it that she really needed right now.

"Thanks," she murmured, to which he just grunted noncommittally in response.

"What's that smell?" Blake shouted in disgusted, breaking the calm that had settled over them as they leaned against her car. They joined the others as the smell hit them next, all of them gagging. Alex would've thought her work as a mortician would've helped her, given her some sort of immunity or threshold, but she had never smelled this kind of decay before.

"That's bad," Wade agreed, trying to cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve.

"Oh my god," Paige moaned, burying herself into Blake's side as if he could help.

"Something's dead out there," Alex asserted, not knowing what else could be causing this kind of smell. And as a mortician, this was kind of her specialty.

"No, something's dead right here," Nick corrected, shoving his elbow into Dalton's side playfully. And then the wind changed direction and the putrid miasma was gone. It wasn't long before they got the party running again, but there was a certain level of uneasiness that they all still felt afterwards. Dalton tried to lift their spirits by filming them all, but he only served to annoy them. Carly and Paige dressed him up in retaliation, making the rest of them laugh for real. Nick and Alex shared a few more eye rolls as the couples made out, but they still stayed alert. They were proven right when not too long after, a set of headlights appeared from a path a bit above them. It was blinding, so all she could tell was that it was a truck. They waited, but the driver didn't turn off the lights, nor did he step out of his vehicle. There was a heaviness that weighed on her shoulders, a certain mix of excitement and fear that she hadn't felt since she was a teenager. That feeling, combined with the bright lights, left her dizzy.

"Hey, yo, man, you need something?" Blake called out defensively.

"What does he want?" Paige asked among them, but no one had any answers.

"Hey, can you turn off your lights, please?" Wade called out next, trying to be polite.

"Okay, this is getting kind of creepy," Carly admitted, which Alex seconded. Nick took notice of her disoriented state, quickly moving to shield her behind his body to block out the lights.

"Hey, come on, man, get out of here," Alex shouted as well from behind Nick, wanting to show her support.

"Nothing to see here," Dalton joined.

"Turn them off, or I'm whooping someone's ass," Blake threatened emptily, but still the man didn't listen. So without any hesitation, Nick grabbed a beer bottle and threw it just as he had the football earlier, effortlessly shattering one of the headlights. When it became clear that he was ready to bust the other one as well, the driver began to slowly back up the way he came, until he disappeared all together. Carly tried to chide her brother for acting so rashly, but all of them were glad that it had made the truck leave them alone. They all stayed awake for a few more hours after that, sitting in silence around the fire. Of course none of them admitted that they were worried about the high beams reappearing, but they never did. The hours began to weigh heavily on them all, and they decided unanimously to get some sleep.

"Where are you going?" Nick asked sharply as she began to move away from the group.

"I was gonna go sleep in my car-" she began, but he just steamrolled right over her.

"No way. We have an extra sleeping bag, and you can share a tent with me," he decided, and she wasn't going to argue with him with that man still out there, possibly watching them.

"What about me, man?" Dalton whined, more than a little drunk.

"You can sleep outside," Nick said firmly, throwing his friend his sleeping bag.

"No fair!" he tried, but he gave up quickly when Nick just guided her into the tent. Dalton resigned himself to sleeping in between two of the tents, passing out almost immediately, his precious camera cuddled to his chest.

"Look at my boy making a move!" Blake called out as he zipped the tent closed behind them. Out of sight from his friends, Nick collapsed onto his sleeping bag with a groan. Both of them decided to ignore Blake's assumption.

"You didn't have to do that, I'd be just fine," she sassed, even though she was already taking off her shoes.

"I'm sure you would be, but I'm not going to risk it with that dude out there." His seriousness made her feel less weird about being protected.

"Thanks," she murmured, to which he only hummed. Alex slipped off her jeans, safe in her belief that Nick wasn't a creep. They both got situated in their respective sleeping bags, turning off the small camping lantern in the tent, plunging them into darkness. And it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, but it was clear that both of them were still awake, lost in their own thoughts.

"So are you going to tell me what you're doing all the way out here?" he asked conversationally, continuing when she didn't respond immediately, "Don't think I haven't noticed that you never told us why a girl with Maine plates is in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana."

"I'm from a small town around here, Ambrose," she admitted, both of them aware that she had been careful to not reveal this information for some reason.

"There's nothing on the map about a town," he stated, clearly wanting to believe her but, with no evidence, it did sound odd.

"I know. It used to be somewhere around here, but it's been wiped off the maps. I don't know why, or if the town is even still there." And wasn't that a scary thought? She couldn't imagine it being gone; the house she grew up in, the pet store, the House of Wax, the Sinclair-

"Well, I mean, a town just can't disappear," he snarked, before becoming a bit hesitant, "Can it?" And it made her feel warm inside that he didn't make fun of her for believing in ghost towns.

"I don't think so," she said, clearly just as unsure.

"Why were you coming back? Visiting your parents?"

"I haven't talked to my parents since I ran away when I was 16," she scoffed, before continuing with something that felt too honest, "I don't know really. I've been kind of lost lately, and I thought that coming back to my hometown would help somehow."

"I can understand that. I hope you find what you're looking for," he whispered before drifting off to sleep.

"Night, Nick," she murmured, as she drifted away as well. And if she dreamt of melting wax masks and bloodstained baseball bats, she wouldn't remember in the morning.  
______________________________________

"It's 2 PM! Wake up! Nick, Dalton, wake up!" She awoke suddenly to shouting, making her panic briefly before she realized it was just Blake.

While the guys disassembled the campsite, she stuck with the girls as they ventured into the woods for some privacy. Just because she didn't know them very well didn't mean that she wasn't prepared to go to the bathroom as a group. After all, safety in numbers. She remained on the sidelines as they gossiped some more, but Alex couldn't bring herself to care, half asleep as she still was. The overwhelming scent of rot from the night before returned, waking her up instantly. And of course Carly wanted to follow the smell.

"Carly!" Paige screamed, startling her. She turned just in time to see Carly disappear as she fell downwards. Paige seemed frozen, so Alex was quick to run over, only pausing momentarily as the hole of rotting animal carcasses came into view. She tried to help Carly out, but only succeeded in stopping her from falling forward any more. She could hear Paige screaming for help, but all Alex could focus on was the way her hands were covered in blood.

"Wade, where are you?" Carly screamed, and she could admit that they needed a helping hand to pull them both back to safety.

"Come on, I got you, it's alright," he called, slipping down the embankment in a move that was rather impressive and hauling them both away from the pit.

"There's a roadkill pit," Paige called out as the other guys came crashing through the brush to join them. Blake didn't hesitate to comfort his girlfriend, while Dalton just began retching, the sight too much for his hungover self.

"Smells about right," Nick jested, joining Alex by the edge. He looked her over, but she just shook her head, silently telling him that she was fine.

"Hey, is that the truck from last night?" someone pointed out, causing the rest of them to look up. Across the pit, a small truck was backing up until it seemed like it was going to fall in.

"Not unless he got his headlight fixed," Nick realized, and she relaxed when she realized he was right. This truck was too small, as well as having two functional headlights. She also could've sworn the truck from the night before had been a four door, while this one was only a two door. A man got out from the cab, whistling to himself and climbing into the truck bed. He began throwing more dead animals into the pit, and while it was disgusting, she understood; this man was the person responsible for keeping the roads cleared and thus maintaining this pit.

"Hey! Don't you see that?" Carly suddenly called out to the man, pointing into the pit when he turned around, startled. At first Alex thought she was referring to the pit itself, in which the answer was fairly obvious seeing as he had made the pit. But then she saw what the twin was pointing at; a human hand.

"What is that?"

"No way," she breathed out, watching as the man waded further into the carnage and rot towards the hand.

"What are you doing, man?" Blake wheezed, half crazed as the man began to pull on the hand. Imagine their surprise when the hand came free from the arm that was stuck in the pit, revealing plastic and metal.

"Anyone need a hand?" he joked, waving the mannequin hand around, stopping once he registered the shock and disgust on their faces, "I'm just fooling. It's not real, see?" He smiled brightly, the oddness of this situation clearly not registering with him. And as friendly as he appeared, there was a sharpness to his gaze as he looked them over, paying particular attention to the females. It made her shiver, even though it was hot as hell out here. When he made eye contact with her, she couldn't help but think he looked familiar.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Paige asked as Carly and Wade put some distance between themselves and the pit. Carly was quick to wash her hands off with some bottled waters, the pink river obscene as it flowed off her petite hands.

"Sorry we took so long," Nick murmured to her, just for her. She nodded distractedly, trying to wipe the drying blood off her own hands. She didn't like the way it stained her skin and colored her nails a ruby red, grotesque and unclean.

"What are you guys doing here?" the man asked, something like suspicion in his tone even though he was clearly the more out of place person here.

"We were all camping through those trees," Blake explained, pointing vaguely behind him.

"Hey, is there a gas station around here?" Wade asks suddenly, causing her head to snap up in attention.

"Well, I got some gas in the truck if-"

"I need a fan belt," he cuts the man off before he can complete his offer. The redneck seemed put off at the interruption, frowning.

"What?" Carly hissed, something like disbelief on her face. And Alex could relate, it was just one thing after another for some reason.

"It just busted," he explained lowly, and it seemed odd to her that something would just break like that on his car, given how well he maintained it.

"Bo might have one, he runs a station in Ambrose," the older man suggested. At the name, she froze. She didn't know why she hadn't considered that the Sinclair may still be residing in Ambrose. She had been best friends with the troubled boy, had even been dating him when she had left. He had been a few years older than her, but with the limited options of children in the town, it had been natural for them to befriend each other. He had already been an adult when she was 16, meaning that when he smashed someone's face in for talking bad about his brother, he had went to jail. She guessed that without him there to talk her out of it, it had been her chance to finally leave that backwater town. Alex had written him in jail, telling him about where he could find her in New Orleans when he got out, but he had never came. She had assumed their relationship effectively terminated after that, had even been heartbroken that he hadn't even written her back.

"Where's that?"

"About 15 miles up the road," he explained, pointing back the way he had come from.

There was a brief discussion about what to do, with Wade deciding that he'd stay behind with his car and just wait for the others to bring him back a belt after the game.

"I'll give you ride," the creepy redneck offered, but something about it caused her panic from earlier to resurface. Something just felt wrong, and she didn't even know she was talking until the words were out of her mouth.

"That's fine, I can drive him," she said, making the decision for him more so than offering.

"What?" Nick snapped, eyes narrowing at her as if to challenge her.

"It's only 15 miles, I can make it that far before my car starts overheating again," Alex reasoned, eyes glancing over to the redneck as if to tell Wade to weigh his options carefully. He quickly caught on, nodding in agreement eagerly.

"I'm going with you," Carly decided, looking at her questioningly first to ask for permission. When she nodded slightly, Nick spoke up as well.

"I'll come too," Nick asserted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders lightly, just to make sure she knew that she couldn't change his mind. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but she couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"What about the game?" Blake whined, disbelieving that all of them would just give up on the opportunity of a lifetime.

"I'm a fan of playing football, not watching it," Nick explained nonchalantly, as if he hadn't been looking forward to this game at all, which Alex knew he had been.

"Oh, I see, you want to hang out with the new girl," Blake insinuated nastily, before looking to Wade pleadingly.

"I didn't really come for football if you get what I mean," Wade said sheepishly, glancing to over to Carly as if that explained everything. And given how much he cared about her, it really did.

"Alex," Nick said her name, getting her attention. She was a bit startled when he began taking off his tank top, offering it to her. She was confused, caught up in taking in his shirtless form, until she looked down and realized her shirt was covered in blood. There were handprints where she had been wiping off her hands, and it made her stomach twist.

"Thanks," she accepted immediately, eager to remove the bloodstained clothing from her person. Wade quickly did the same, offering his shirt to Carly. They didn't hesitate to take their ruined shirts off, and she didn't even notice when the shirtless boys moved to block them from the view of the strange man. Nick's tank top was laughably long on her, almost going all the way down to her knees. Her black bra was clearly visible behind the white, but she didn't really care. Wade's long sleeved shirt engulfed Carly, but she looked very content in it, almost smug.

With that, the group split up. They said their goodbyes, and Alex found herself getting impatient. Ambrose was so close, she had been so close the whole time. Carly and Wade finally got into her car, with Nick calling shotgun next to her. They rolled down all the windows, and she quickly drove down the dirt road to keep the air moving.

"Shit," she hissed as she watched the temperature gauge climb until it was in the danger zone. Just before it hit red and overheated, she came to an abrupt stop as the road just ended. Across the washed out road, she could see the welcome sign to Ambrose, could see the beginnings of buildings.

"We made it," she murmured, turning off the car and getting out. The others followed suit, joining her as she used the rocks to get across the stream. Something in her chest felt tight, gazing upon her hometown. She could almost see the child version of herself running down these streets with her friends, could almost hear her laughter.

"I can see the gas station, let's go," Wade urged, pointing to the old fashioned gas station on the corner. But she wasn't ready to see Bo yet, and she had somewhere to visit first.

"Actually, I'm gonna go check something out," she brought up sheepishly, pointing down a side road away from the main street. Alex looked at Nick to see if he wouldn't mind coming with her, to which he nodded.

"I'll come with you," he confirmed aloud, just for the sake of the other two people in their party.

"We'll meet up with you guys after we get the fan belt then," Carly decided, clearly eager to separate her brother from her boyfriend. Nick was able to keep his temper at her attitude in check, especially after Alex grabbed ahold of his arm and began guiding him away from the others.

"Where is everybody?" he asked, glancing around. And it was weird to her too, that the houses were perfectly maintained with cars sitting in the driveways, but there was no one outside. No old men watering the lawn, no kids running around; there wasn't even any sounds of human life nearby despite the evidence.

"Ambrose used to be a small town, kept afloat mainly by the sugar mill. Looks like it's become even smaller," she guessed, even though both of them clearly doubted her explanation.

"What the hell is the House of Wax?" Nick scoffed, and she followed his line of sight to one of the many signs for Trudy's House of Wax. In the picture, it looked exactly as she remembered it. Alex had run around the museum all the time with the twins, they had even spent the night there before to prove their bravery.

"Our most famous attraction of course." She made sure to lay on the accent thick, just to annoy her friend.

"This Trudy must've been very talented," he snickered, but there was some truth to his words.

"Mrs. Sinclair was definitely talented. But she was also the meanest woman I've ever met."

"You knew her?"

"I was friends with her sons," she admitted, before coming to a stop, "Here we are, this is my house." And it looked just like she remembered it; the mailbox with her last name, Theriot, emblazoned on the side in an elegant script, the huge front porch with the old wooden swing, the faded blue siding with the white trim. She was frozen, looking at the house she hadn't been to in 10 years.

"Go on," Nick urged softly from next to her, breaking whatever spell she had been under.

"Mama? Papa? It's Alexandria!" she called out as she knocked on the door.

"Alexandria?" he questioned with a chuckle, earning himself a glare as she began feeling around the bottom of the swing for the spare key.

"Alexandria Harper Theriot. I used to go by Xander as a kid though, didn't start going by Alex until I was in college," she explained, unlocking the door with the hidden key that her parents had never moved, "Mama? Papa?"

"Hello? Anyone home?" Nick called out as he filed in behind her. The front hall looked exactly the same as the day she had left, but everything was covered in a layer of dust.

"This isn't right," she muttered, swiping her finger through the dust on the table in the foyer.

"What? Your parents not big into cleaning?"

"The opposite, actually. They were so strict about keeping everything neat and clean."

"Maybe they moved out?" he offered up, but even she could tell that he found this whole place as weird as she did.

"Then why is all their stuff still here?"

"They could've gone north for the summer, isn't that a thing older people do in the south?"

"Well, yes, but my parents aren't that old."

Every room was the same; everything in its place but with a thick layer of dust. She went up the stairs, avoiding every squeaky step out of habit, Nick thundering along behind her. She made a beeline for her room, her companion chuckling at the stickers on her door. Alex immediately jumped on her bed upon entering the room. Nick was caught up in being nosy and examining all her posters and knickknacks.

"Is this supposed to be you?" he asked as he picked up a framed portrait. She squinted up at him, but she could make out the image perfectly. It was her as a small child, dressed in her infamous overalls and baseball cap, staring at something off canvas. It made her feel oddly wistful as she spotted the artist's shaky signature on the bottom corner.

"Yeah, Vincent painted that for me for my 15th birthday," Alex mused, remembering how he had been so scared to give it to her, so insecure about his art. But she had loved it, the way he had remembered such a specific moment of her childhood.

"Man, you were such a tomboy," he teased, but there was a fond smile on his face, "You don't even look like the same people."

"We're not," she murmured absentmindedly, reaching for the framed picture on her nightstand. It was her as a child again, maybe 10 years old this time, smiling with the Sinclair twins at one of her birthday parties. It had been special, as Trudy very rarely let Vincent out of the house. She ran a thumb over their faces, and halted suddenly when she noticed something.

"Nick," she called out hesitantly, but he wasn't paying her any mind.

"Nick!" Her sharp tone got his attention this time, or maybe it was the way she was frantically scrambling off of her old bed.

"What?"

"Why isn't anything dusty?" Her question hung in the tense air for a moment as he processed her words, as she continued to look around to make sure she was right.

"What?"

"Every other room in the house is absolutely covered in dust, so why is everything in here so clean?" It made no sense, other than alluding to something not being right here. And that sense of wrongness wasn't just in her house, it extended to the whole damn town.

"Come on, let's go find Carly," he suggested, as they slowly backed out of the room.

"Good idea," she seconded, watching his back as they closed the door behind them before breaking for the stairs. They all but ran out of the house, heading back the way they came before making a B-line for the gas station.

"Hello?" Nick called out gruffly as he opened the door, but there was no one inside.

"Carly? Wade?" she tried, calling their individual names. Alex could swear that the hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up, like she was entering flight or fight.

"Where the hell are they?" her companion muttered, going as far as to check the back room while she waited by the front.

"Hey!" The sudden voice made her jump, and she whipped around to find Wade and Carly looking at her through the glass window. She breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the gas station, Nick joining them from the back room.

"You guys ready to leave?" he asked, checking the windows as if to make sure they weren't followed. It may have been a bit paranoid, but Alex couldn't blame him.

"What? No," Wade answered, clearly put off by their odd behavior, "We're waiting on Bo. No one was here earlier, and I still need the fan belt."

"Well, grab it and leave some money on the counter. We need to go," she urged, which only made them more concerned. And, well, they should be.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Something isn't right," Nick attempted, only for Wade to chuckle in response.

"I mean, yeah, have you been to the wax museum?" He pointed up the hill, where the House of Wax could barely be seen with the setting sun silhouetting it. It made her shiver, uncomfortable and almost scared.

"What's the rush? Paige and them missed the game due to traffic and are on their way back," Carly tried, but it didn't stop Alex from approaching the wall with the fan belts on it behind the counter, "Wait, I don't think this is cool, just coming in like this."

"It's already getting dark," she muttered, ignoring the other girl completely as Wade came to join her, seemingly fine with just leaving.

"He's got everything but a 15 inch, I guess I'll just have to use a-"

"Make it work somehow," Nick snapped, causing Wade to tense in preparation of an argument and Carly to roll her eyes.

"You plan on stealing that?" a heavy drawl suddenly asked from behind them, making them all jump and face the front door in almost perfect unison. And there he was, Bo Sinclair in the flesh. He was dressed up in a dark blue suit, hair slicked back and out of his face. Although his tone had been void of a real accusation, his eyes analyzed all of them carefully, paying attention to the two newcomers. He looked so handsome like this, the perfect southern gentleman. He'd filled out since she last saw him, both in height and muscle. But those eyes were exactly as she remembered them, along with that predatory smirk. But Alex knew the scars that were hidden under those long sleeves, so she didn't dare turn her back on the man. Something was wrong in Ambrose, and Bo was the first local they'd come across, which was very suspicious.

"No, we didn't know how much longer you were gonna be, and, you know, we didn't wanna interrupt again," Carly refuted awkwardly, and Alex wondered what they had interrupted initially.

"I left you money on the counter, but you don't have any 15 inch fan belts," Wade offered next, waving a hand towards the counter where he had indeed put down some bills.

"I do at the house," Bo stated easily, leaning against the door frame casually, as if he wasn't blocking the exit intentionally.

"I hope you're not getting the wrong idea that we're in here," Carly said meekly, to which he only grinned. It was oddly sharp for someone with dimples.

"No, it's okay," he assured, before introducing himself, "I haven't met your friends here yet. I'm Bo."

"I'm Alex," she greeted, shaking the proffered hand. It completely engulfed her own, and his hands were so warm and calloused. It was familiar and yet it was foreign, just like the man himself. She almost expected him to call her out, but there was no signs of recognition.

"Nice to meet you, Alex. We don't get girls as pretty as you around here very often," he flirted, laying the drawl on strong as he leaned down to place a kiss on the back of her hand. And it was difficult for her to see the boy she had left behind in this suave man as he made sure to maintain eye contact with her the entire time.

"Nick," her friend interrupted, introducing himself as he inserted his body between them, knocking her hand out of the man's hold. There was a flash of annoyance and something dark in his expression before it smoothed out into something neutral and almost friendly as he shook Nick's hand too.

"Why don't we get the one you need? It's only a couple of blocks," he suggested casually, though she could tell that he wanted them to follow him. It felt like a trap, leading them up to the Sinclair house. Nothing good had ever come from being inside that place, and it was a wonder that he still lived there. Alex hadn't seen Vincent yet, but she was sure he wasn't too far from his twin.

"Yeah, alright, that'd be great," Wade answered before any of them could shut down the station owner. She could have strangled the dumbass, but she didn't want to let Bo know that there was something wrong.

"You keep fan belts at your house?" Nick asked, clearing suspicious and a bit disbelieving.

"I get things delivered there when I'm not here," the other man explained, and, to be fair, that wasn't exactly odd in small towns like Ambrose. Hell, the Doc had practiced right out of their house.

"Oh, before we leave, you mind if I use the restroom real fast?" Wade asked suddenly, just as Bo was beginning to herd them out of the shop, locking the door with a certain finality behind them.

"That one's out of order. You can use the one up at the house, though." There was an easiness to the way he lied, but he still had some of the same tells as when she knew him. And while Alex was reluctant to follow, it seemed smarter to stay together in a group. Safety in numbers and all that. The sun had gone down at this point, as they began to walk up the hill, but the sky was still lit up a vibrant red. It was an awkward silence, with Bo leading them, followed by Carly and Wade, and finally her and Nick bringing up the rear, staying as far away from the Sinclair as possible without being rude. And if Nick wrapped an arm around her shoulder protectively, you couldn't blame her for basically merging into his side.

"Is it too late to sign Carly up for that beauty pageant?" Wade's attempt at conversation was mortifying, especially given how oblivious he seemed to the tension and oddness surrounding them. Nick rolled his eyes and Alex tried not to sigh aloud, but Carly found it charming and Bo humored them.

"Unfortunately it is, because either of these lovely ladies would've won hands down." As he spoke, he glanced back at them with a sly grin that made her skin crawl.

"I'm not really the pageant type," she muttered, but there was level of hostility that she didn't quite stop in time from coming through. While Nick was trying to fight a smirk, Wade and Carly looked horrified at her rudeness, and Bo's face was a blank slate.

"Thank you," Carly responded, trying to fill the awkward space left by her words, "That House of Wax was pretty cool."

"You went inside?" It was said in unison by both her and the twin, though she sounded incredulous and he seemed almost upset.

"Yeah, it was unlocked, so, we toured it." Though they were sheepish and apologetic, that was a level of disrespect that made Alex want to just leave them to their fate. It was more surprising that Bo didn't smash Wade's teeth in, that he reigned in his anger and instead continued casually.

"People used to come to see it from miles away," he explained wistfully, "And Trudy was the main artist, I guess is the appropriate word."

"What about Vincent?" Carly's words were a shock to her system, the first time anyone had spoken that name. And maybe she had been wrong, maybe the couple had seen the other twin.

"Vincent?"

"Yeah, I saw his name on a lot of the work," the preppy girl elaborated. And that answered her question of where Vincent was. It would make sense that he had taken up the House of Wax after Trudy's passing, ever the artistic one. Alex thought it would be better if they had just let it burn to the ground.

"He was one of Trudy's boys." His answer confused her at first, before she realized that he had some sort of reasoning for not just saying the other was his brother, his twin in fact.

"They still around?"

"No, no. It's a horrible story," he explained, beginning his tale with a certain degree of faux reluctance, "Trudy's husband, Doctor Sinclair, he was a doctor in the big city until he got his license revoked for doing surgeries on the side. Stuff that, you know, most doctors wouldn't dare do. So he moved him and Trudy out here to Ambrose. Made a fresh start with his medical practice and, you know, Trudy really found her calling with that whole wax-sculpture thing. It was her dream to do something really incredible here. And then she had a couple kids, picket fence." Everyone was listening intently, everyone but Alex that is. She had heard this story before, had been there when it came to fruition.

"What's horrible about that?" Carly sounded entranced by Bo's story, but she just looked off in the distance with a grimace as he continued.

"Trudy got a cyst in her brain. She just started rotting away; couldn't work no more and went crazy. Things got so bad that Doc Sinclair finally had to strap her to the bed. The whole town could hear her screaming. Dr. Sinclair was so depressed that he couldn't save her, he blew his head right off," he continued, seeming oddly detached. And Alex's feeling of uneasy only increased, as Bo neglected to mention that he was one of their sons, that Trudy and the good doctor were abusive pieces of shits that weren't equipped to care for any of their children.

"That's terrible." Wade and Carly's sympathy was alarming, the way they were falling for his sob story. He made it out to be a tragedy when really it had been a horror. At least Nick looked like he didn't trust a word out of the southern gentleman's mouth.

"It was worse for the boys, left alone like that. They both ended up in foster homes." But Alex knew that wasn't true, knew all three boys stayed in the house that both of their parents died in. Ambrose was a small town, and the twins had been 16 when their dad bit the bullet, old enough to be considered a man in the South. It was then that it occurred to her who the roadkill redneck had been; Lester Sinclair. He was the most harmless of the brothers, a bit simple, but he had always had a heart of gold. Bo was twisting the narrative as it suited him, straight up lying at certain parts.

Before anyone could say anything else, they arrived in front of the Sinclair house. It was exactly the way she remembered it in her nightmares, and it felt like a cursed place.

"Why don't you guys jump in, I'll give you a lift," Bo offered, waving a hand at his truck, "It's the least I could do for making y'all wait." It was oddly familiar, his truck, but Alex just assumed that maybe it had been the Doc's or the one Bo had been driving when she left.

"No thanks, we have a car waiting for us over where the road is washed out," Nick spoke up before the couple could, Alex nodding along until they got the message. She thought that they were safe, that they could just wait outside and avoid the house itself. Of course it couldn't just be that easy.

"Hey, you need to use the facilities, right?" the local asked Wade, as if he had suddenly just remembered. But the feeling of wrongness was even worse now, staring at that house as it fell completely dark around them.

"Yeah, thanks." They began to walk towards the front steps, and Alex didn't even think before acting on impulse. After all, there was no way in hell she was letting anyone walk into there alone with the Sinclair.

"I have to go too," she cut in, blushing as they all looked at her like she was crazy, "If you don't mind, of course."

"Not at all," Bo assured, but there was a flash of annoyance that said otherwise.

"So where were you heading to anyway?" he asked as he unlocked the door, guiding them into the foyer.

"Well, we're just going to a football game," Wade answered easily, pausing when he realized that he didn't know where she had been going, "Alex?" For the second time since they had arrived in Ambrose, she wanted to strangle Carly's boyfriend.

"She wasn't with you guys?" His curiosity was peaked, and that wasn't exactly a good thing right now.

"I was heading back to my hometown," she answered after a moment of thinking about how to word her answer, knowing the best lies have bits of truth to them.

"Oh, where?" Bo asked, engaged with the information, "Maybe I've heard of it." He was staring at her in a way that was dangerous, those half lidded eyes that she had fallen for time and time again as a teenager. It was as if knowing that she wasn't like the rest of them had put her in his crosshairs, but in what way, she didn't know.

"I don't doubt it," she agreed, using the fakest smile she could do to clearly indicate that she wasn't going to tell him anything else.

"Well, the bathroom is right down the hall," he finally conceded as the silence grew awkward, letting them do what they had come in here for the first place to do, "Let me get out of this jacket and tie, and I'll grab your fan belt. Need anything else while we're here?"

"I completely forgot earlier! My car overheated, do you happen to have any antifreeze?" As much as she hated asking anything of the Sinclair, they wouldn't be able to get very far with her car still malfunctioning. But worse case scenario, they could try and make it back to the muscle car as a get away if she couldn't get any coolant.

"Yeah, I do. Good thing you remembered." It felt like there was a joke that she was missing, but she didn't say anything as Wade and her began to make their way further into the house. As she didn't actually have to use the bathroom, Alex remained in the hallway as a sort of guard. Thankfully, Wade didn't take very long.

"Aren't you going to use the restroom?" he asked when she made no move to enter the bathroom.

"No, I just came with to make sure you weren't in this house alone," she admitted.

"I would've been fine." He rose an eyebrow at her strangeness but otherwise didn't comment.

"I'm sure. Now let's get out of here," she urged, beginning to walk away, but when she glanced back, Wade wasn't there. She momentarily had a heart attack before realizing that he had instead entered the room across from the bathroom in his curiosity. Alex felt sick upon realizing that it was the Doc's old office and practice, complete with all the archaic tools of surgery. They weren't supposed to be in the house, left alone in this room. It felt cursed, especially knowing that this is where he had blown his brains out.

"Wait, wow, what is all of this stuff?" he asked, and she shivered as he picked up something that looked more like an instrument of torture than medical equipment.

"It's Doc Sinclair's stuff. Now we really need to get out of here." She was almost ready to grab him and drag him out of the house bodily, they had been in here too long and Bo hadn't even tried to find them.

"But why would his stuff be in Bo's house?"

"Because he's Bo Sinclair." And just as the words left her mouth, the lights flickered off above them. Of course Wade tried the door, only to find that it was locked. She turned her back on Wade for maybe 5 seconds, but that's all it took for him to get knocked out apparently. From there, it wasn't hard for the unknown assailant to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. Hell, she didn't even fight. There were only two people this could be, and given that fighting would only make them more excited, she elected to just hang there calmly. She was carried into the bowels of the house through one of the many trapdoors, the man dragging Wade behind him down the stairs. She cringed sympathetically every time his head smacked on the next step. Once she was put down on what appeared to be an operating table, she was able to get a better look. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lights, and for a moment she recognized the bulk of the man in front of her as Bo. But the clothes weren't right, nor the long hair. It was then that she caught sight of his face, or lack there of.

"Vincent," she murmured as she took in the mask. He must've heard her, because he paused in lifting Wade onto another table to look at her, head cocking to the side like a curious animal.

"Vincent, stop," she tried gently. While it got him to leave Wade alone, he began to approach her. She couldn't read his body language, couldn't even really see his eyes behind his hair. He was so different to the shy boy that she remembered, and he scared her to be frank. He gently grabbed her chin, turning her head as he looked over her. At first she didn't know what he was doing, then she realized that she must've seemed familiar to him and he was studying her face. She wondered if he wouldn't be able to place her as the teen that had left Ambrose all those years ago, like Bo. But a whine began to build in his throat as he recognized her, letting go as if the contact had burned him. His tall and intimidating posture began to crumble as he backed away from her as if she was the dangerous one, as if she had kidnapped him.

"Vincent, it's okay," she cooed, getting off the table slowly. He fell to his knees as if to ask for forgiveness, and it was wickedly similar to how he used to with his mother. It was scary in a different way, how pathetic and terrified and guilty he was, this beast of a man.

"It's just me, it's just Xander," she soothed, looking into his eyes as she slowly, gently, brushed his hair out of the way, "You know I would never hurt you Vincent." His updated wax mask was leagues better than how she remembered, but Alex didn't understand why he didn't make a more realistic version, especially given his skills. Her best guess was that Bo wouldn't let him.

"You," Vincent said, his voice small and meek, but she couldn't really wrap her head around what he meant.

"Me?"

"Hurt you?" The realization made her grimace; he had just recognized her as someone he cared about, and he had thought that he had injured her.

"No, you didn't hurt me. You would never hurt me," she assured, running her hands through his greasy strands. She was in the middle of wondering if he even owned a hairbrush when Wade groaned from his place on the floor where Vincent had left him.

"What happened?" he asked groggily, though it was clear that he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. But the other male being awake seemed to trigger something in the man on his knees, as suddenly the artist was on his feet and thundering towards the vulnerable Wade.

"Vincent, stop, that's Wade," she asserted, grabbing ahold of his jacket and pulling him to a halt, though she was aware that he must've allowed her to, "He's my friend." He hesitated as he considered her words, hands clenching concerningly as he looked upon the other male, but he folded under the pressure of her presence.

"What the hell is this place?" He was looking around frantically, as if he hadn't even realized the danger he had been in a moment ago. She didn't know what Vince had been intending on doing with them, but she didn't want to risk asking and him flipping out.

"This is where Vincent creates his art," she deadpanned, helping Wade to his feet before addressing the Sinclair with a smirk, "I heard that you've become quite the sculptor." Predictably, the other looked away sheepishly at her compliment, which made her chuckle.

"We need to get out of here." It was the first sensible thing the other had said all night.

"And we will."

"Stay," Vincent softly murmured, but all she could do was sigh.

"I can't, I need to protect my friends."

"Bo?" Alex didn't know how he sounded so innocent, so heartbroken. But he had always been odd, though not dumb like almost everyone thought.

"Yes, from Bo. He's seen me, but he doesn't know who I am yet. Can you keep this a secret, Vincent?"

"Yes," he agreed reluctantly, but she didn't know if she could actually trust him to keep anything from his brother for long. He reached out his hand, surprising her with a set of keys. And it was a relief, knowing that he was letting them go, aiding them even.

"Thank you." It was earnest and felt like the goodbye he deserved, as she grabbed Wade's wrist and dragged him behind her as she climbed the stairs of wax, exiting in the same operating theater. She used the keys that Vincent had given her to unlock the door, the other still asking frantic questions and watching out behind them for either of the twins.

"What just happened? Why did he call you Xander? What was that? How-"

"We are going to walk out of this house like nothing happened, understand? Bo can't know that Vincent captured us and let us go, it won't be good for any of us," she cut in sharply, grabbing Wade by the collar and pushing him against the hallway wall to make her point. And after a moment of staring at her incredulously, he seemed to understand that it was the best way for them all to get out of Ambrose unharmed, nodding and taking a moment to collect himself.

She relished in the surprised expression on Bo's face as they walked out of the house leisurely, as if nothing had happened. Nick and Carly both looked ready to collapse in relief as they approached. It made something warm bloom in her chest as she realized that the siblings were standing close together protectively, while Bo was leaning on his truck, keeping his distance.

"Sorry for taking so long, I need to freshen up a bit," she lied boldly, all of them aware that she looked exactly the same as she had when she had entered, if not more frazzled.

"Is that the 15 inch belt? Thank you so much, man," Wade played along, clearly trusting her lead although his acting skills weren't up to par.

"What the hell took you two so long?" Nick hissed lowly as she joined him, just loud enough for her to hear.

"We need to get back to the car, now," she answered in kind as she watched Bo study them.

"Here, should this cover it?" Wade offered the station owner some amount of bills from his wallet, ignoring Carly's not so subtle pestering.

"The fan belt is already paid for," he refused, probably referencing the money left down on the gas station's counter, before turning to her with a wink, "And let's just say the antifreeze is on me, cher."

"You don't have to do that," she argued, not wanting to be indebted to him. It felt like a risk, accepting a gift from the man.

"I want to. Still sure you guys don't want a ride back to your car?"

"Thanks for the offer, but we would hate to impose even more than we had. Again, sorry for your loss," Wade declined before she could, slowly losing his cool as he began to speed walk away from the house, Carly trailing after him silently. But her facial expression said that her boyfriend was in some type of trouble for not telling her everything.

"What did you mean back there?" Nick asked, and she did a double take, Wade's last sentence registering.

"Well, when we first came to town, we couldn't find anyone. We ended up walking into the church and interrupting a funeral. Bo said that it was someone very special to him," Carly explained, all sympathy and pity. But the words made Alex tense, as she considered the possibility of Bo being at a funeral. It didn't make sense, other than if it had been for-

"Shit, he's gone insane," she murmured in horror, glancing back a few times to make sure he wasn't following them.

"What do you mean?" her friend asked, brows furrowed in concern.

"Bo had always been a problem child, had always had a few screws loose. But when his mother died, it broke something in him."

"How do you-" Carly began, only to be cut off by her brother.

"This is her hometown, this is where she was going when she broke down." They walked the rest of the way in silence, speeding up until they were almost jogging. She could've cried in relief when her vehicle came into view across the flooded creak.

"Okay, I'll put the antifreeze in the car, you guys get in," Nick ordered, heading to the front of her car as she unlocked the doors and reached in to pop the hood. It was dark, so she didn't really notice anything wrong until Wade spoke up.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," he began, elaborating when they all gave him a questioning look, "All your tires are trashed."

"Where are Blake and Paige? Didn't they say they were on their way back here?" Alex asked Carly before they could begin to panic.

"Yeah, let me call them." The prep began to pull out her phone, searching through her contacts for Paige's number, but it would seem that they were unlucky.

"I don't think we have time for that," she said as all the lights in Ambrose turned on at once, illuminating the once dark streets. It wasn't right, the way they had all turned on in unison, like someone had just flipped a switch. It was even more glaring now that there was no one in the damn town, aside from the Sinclair twins.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we need to hide, now," she insisted, very much aware now that Bo had been the truck watching them camp. He knew this area better than them, he had a vehicle, and he knew where they were heading; Wade's car. Going into the forest wasn't exactly an option.

"He would've think to check your house, would he?" Nick asked, trying to think of the safe places in Ambrose and coming up with not a whole lot.

"Bo wouldn't, Vincent would. He figured out who I am," she explained with a grimace, Nick sighing in frustration. The look in his eyes clearly said that he was questioning her sanity, so she just grinned sheepishly in response, despite the way she was shaking.

"Vincent?" Carly asked, recognizing the name from the House of Wax.

"The creepy guy in the mask," Wade realized suddenly, to which she nodded.

"Bo's twin brother," she explained, causing the couple to pale as things began to make sense. They began to walk down the side streets, cautious of every step they took. But there were no signs of life; just house after house, well lit with the sound of televisions in the background, but no actual people.

"Why don't we go ask that old lady for help?" Carly asked suddenly, pointing at a house where the curtains had just closed, but they could see the outline of the old lady with curlers in her hair through it. Alex couldn't for the life of her remember who had been living there last, but it didn't really matter. They all hesitated a moment, unsure about approaching a stranger's house, but this was their best chance.

"Good idea." Wade led them to the house, where they took up different positions. The couple went to the front door, ringing the door and knocking on the door, while Alex and Nick jumped the fence to stand in front of the window where the woman still hadn't moved.

"Hello?" But their calls went unanswered. Alex fell back into Nick when suddenly the curtains were pulled back again, her friend catching her as they analyzed the old woman who still didn't acknowledge them. The couple were quick to join them, staring up at the lady.

"What's wrong with her?" Carly asked, flinching when the curtain was shut again, "Why does she just keep opening the curtain?"

"She isn't real," Nick realized, pointing at the faint outlines of something like tracks that moved the woman. There was a moment where it was clear that they all wanted to disagree, after all, it seemed silly. But the long they stared, the more apparent it was that he was right.

"Nothing in this town is real. They're all wax." The realization almost made her fall to her knees, the implications of her empty house and the lack of general life. There really was no one else here, just wax figures. She had never hated Ambrose more, hated Trudy Sinclair more, as it occurred to her just how twisted and messed up the twins had become. Had they truly extended the House of Wax to encompass the entire town?

"How is that possible?" Carly seemed ready to cry, and Alex couldn't exactly blame her.

"I don't know."

"Alex, your house is the only safe place we got," Nick decided, which she wasn't sure of, but at least it was less obvious than the houses on the main streets. And there were no wax figures. So with that, they began to run through the well lit roads, Alex guiding them through the maze of almost identical houses. It was odd, how she was more scared now than when the town had been dark. And she was right to be terrified, given that if any of them had glanced back, they would've seen Bo Sinclair watching them with a crazed and predatory smile, shotgun in hand.


End file.
